Priority Pass Lounges : Equal Opportunity Access

Until recently, airport lounges seemed like a bit of a unknown world, only reserved for the exclusives travellers and high rollers. But in hearing of friends and family using them, I realised normal folk can gain access to the lounges. Some get it included with certain flights or as an offer on a credit card or you can just book it as a one off. Priority Pass lounges are available to all.

Priority Pass

From what I’ve seen a standard entrance fee is about £30. I had a look at what offers there were out there and found the Priority Pass. This pass gets you into over 1000 airport lounges worldwide on an annual basis. With free booze and food, how could it not be grand?

So I took the plunge and bought the mid range pass, which gets you ten free entrances and bring a guest for £15, after ten, the entrance fee is £15 each for you and your guest. Ideally, I also found a 25% discount code on groupon which I purchased for £6 saving me £34 and bringing the cost of the pass down to £113 for 12 months. For someone who frequents airports a minimum of 8 times a year I’d say that’s a pretty good bargain.

Good-bye overpriced burgers and fries!

Never again (this year) will I have to settle for an overpriced burger and fries. I can just graze the deli bar as many times as I feel, grab a wine or 2 and not worry about how much the airport is decreasing my trip funds before I even arrive at my destination.

All Lounges not Created Equal

But as you can imagine not all lounges are created equal. Some have showers and spa treatments(extra fee) available or served to you meals and some are just your basic ameninites. So you should keep that in mind when using various lounges.

First Access

My first entrance was used at Heathrow Terminal 5 Aspire Lounge. It was pretty compact and very busy at the time I entered(Sunday 3pm-5pm). Luckily, someone was leaving as I came and I grabbed their seat. There were plugs next to most seats and I have no complaints on the wifi. I enjoyed my complimentary glass of prosecco and then stuck to the included wines. The self serve food counter was just the sort of food I enjoy before a flight, salads, snacks such as peanuts and olives and soup. Light options that are decently healthy. Although it wasn’t quite the luxurious experience I had imagined and sort of hoped for, overall I was pretty happy and thought it good value.

I’ll have to visit a few more lounges before I decide whether the Priority Pass is worth my while!